A letter from our President, Keith Smith

Christmas as we all know is a time of giving. People normally think only of presents but as well as those welcome gifts there are also thousands of hours of work that volunteers put in to make the world a better place during this time.  We on Pender are very lucky in that our whole island is full of volunteers who are prepared and happy to donate their time all year round for the benefit of our community.  It seems to be part of our way of life here to want to give back in some way as payment for our lifestyle.  Most of our essential services who save lives are run by dedicated volunteers, the fire service, the ambulance service and the auxiliary coastguard. Others do more mundane but equally important jobs like run the library and Nu2u, then there are those who work for the Pender Solstice Theatre Society.  Our dedicated band are the ones who are responsible for us being able to present entertainment to our community. 

There are a great many jobs that need to be filled before a production takes place. It’s not just actors and actresses.  We need Producers, Directors, Stage Managers, Props Managers, Lighting and Sound Engineers, Seamstresses for Costumes , Set Designers, Carpenters, Scenery painters, Makeup artists, Hair Stylists, Special Effects Designers, Designers for tickets, programmes and posters, Printers, Photographers, Front of House people, people to serve refreshments. Sometimes we also need Musicians, Singing coaches and the use of recording studios and our wonderful island is full of people who want to ‘give back’ to our community and volunteer their services. To these people I would like to say a massive Thank You, your help is greatly appreciated, we could not continue without you. It’s is because of your selfless dedication that we as a society are also able to give back to the community. A few years ago we donated the theatre lighting to the Community Hall, this year we have donated a new $7,000 lighting truss which is free for everyone to use.

We are always looking for some ‘new blood’ to help us, the lighting truss was installed by me (aged 63) and Evan Llewellyn (aged 68), you are never too old or too young to help us. You do not have to be fully experienced to do any of the jobs mentioned above, you just need a willingness to learn and be prepared to give up some of your time, we will show you the rest. Words cannot really describe the satisfaction you will feel when it all comes together and the lights come up on-stage for that first performance. If you would like to do something and are interested in helping please email us at [email protected] and we will see what we can do for you.

Finally, Solstice would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and don’t forget to go and see our latest production “Cinderella “.  (It has been two years in the planning and making!). If you have not already got your tickets pop along to Talisman or Southridge to scoop yours up, they are going fast!

Keith Smith
President
Pender Solstice Theatre Society.